The Passion of Joan of Arc, Part 2

You cannot know the history of silent film unless you know the face of Renee Maria Falconetti.

- Roger Ebert

In Dreyer’s movie universe, his characters act in Dreyer’s way. Dreyer’s prime concern was never about any sort of the so-called psychological realism. He was more interested in the spiritual understanding and human relationships that his audience could identify with. Dreyer’s style was stark, ascetic and often minimalist. His detractors may call this ‘cold’ and ‘technical’, yet I suppose these are the qualities that appeal to me. Dreyer’s characters are often estranged from their surroundings, no matter it originates from rules, religion, norms, or an expressionistic vampire world. Their courage is derived from a firm commitment to what they truly believe in, even if the potential trade-offs will lead to their demises. With an unsentimental style like Bresson, Melville, or Ozu, Dreyer’s original style has been able to provoke emotion from his audience and also able to strike resonance among them.

Disruption of the classic D.W. Griffith horizontal line.

One of the most wonderful aspect of ‘The Passion of Joan of Arc’, belongs to the monumental performance of Maria Falconetti. She successfully captures the confusions, ambivalence and hardships in her quest to get closer to God. The film is about her ‘passion’, and it is her intense facial expressions that have casted a significant emotional power onto the audience. It is known that, in order to ‘prepare’ Falconetti for the role, Dreyer ordered her to kneel on the stone-paved set for hours before shooting started. This ‘Bressonian’ treatment was used to wipe her off any of the ‘performance’ (or sentimental) factor, and to make her portray the martyr ‘as she was’.  Of course, Dreyer and Bresson had rather different treatments on the theme of Joan of Arc, and I have compared them in the following table.

Dreyer's and Bresson's 'Joan of Arc'. Prepared by Ed Law.

The plight of Joan of Arc has been identified by many, including, famously, a fictional character known as ‘Nana’, the protagonist in Jean-Luc Godard’s film ‘Vivre Sa Vie’, where her misfortune would lead her to a tragic path of prostitution.

Nana (played by Anna Karina) weeping while watching 'The Passion of Joan of Arc' in Godard's 'Vivre Sa Vie'.

While the legacy of Joan of Arc has been firmly cemented, the interpretation of her case remains open. Over the course of history, many has switched to a more secular, or psychological interpretation of Joan’s situation. Some propose that her holy vision is merely paranoid delusions or the possible side-effects of some psychological or physiological illness. Whether her divine insights are spiritual or pathological, we should be open-minded and respect these viewpoints, as there really are not enough objective evidence to disprove any of these perspectives. And, I suppose this is what Ms. Falconetti has been able to deliver in her stunning performance. In the film, Dreyer has illustrated the challenge of transcending oneself, and the mental turmoil of believing in one’s faith. Others may call you crazy, marginalize you, and make you feel ‘out of joint’. Falconetti was more than able to portray all the conflicting feelings in her spiritual quest, her final moments of her human existence. She showed fright, frustration, paranoia, and most important, euphoria, during her tug-of-war with the corrupt judges. The judge attempted to bluff her by stating that she would be alone if she did not confess her crime, yet then she gleefully said, ‘Yes Alone... with God!’. What a verbal counter-attack!  Joan knew that she had to pass all the spiritual barriers in order to come closer to God, and when she could link to God, with her head slightly tilting up, her face showed a sense of ecstasy. I feel that Falconetti has nicely struck a balance in this iconic sense, as she could show both, rather conflictingly, a paranoid or hallucinatory feeling (like getting high on LSD), and also a euphoric and transcendental sentiment. To be capable of conveying such a multiplicity of emotions in a single frame, serves as a testament to Falconetti’s ingenious skills. Her face will linger in the audience’s mind for long...

Joan 'touring' around in the torture chamber, seeing the torture Ferris Wheel.

Joan thrilled by the potential damages from the torture

'You will be alone!'

Alone with God - the paranoia, the euphoria, the passion.

Joan of Arc will always be an icon of faith; Carl Theodor Dreyer’s ‘The Passion of Joan of Arc’, an icon of a masterpiece. 

(2/2)

By Ed Law

31/8/2015

Film Analysis - 53

The Passion of Joan of Arc, Part 1

I am going to Italy this weekend to attend a conference on Fluorine Chemistry, which will take place for the whole of the coming week. Therefore, I have been preparing for it these few weeks (a poster presentation) and did not write much in my science blog and film blog this month. I do want to get on with some films and therefore I will do a great classic here this time. We will continue with it when I come back next week!

Joan of Arc - the martyr

Joan of Arc (1412-1431) is a historical personality who has always fascinated me. The reason why I admire her is because of her authenticity. While I may not share the same religious belief with her, I am inspired by her courage to stand firm on what she truly believes in, even if that will lead to her death. Because of her magnificent cult status, Joan of Arc is a character that has been portrayed numerous times in different forms of art, notably in cinema.

While her leadership during the battles of the Hundred Years’ War is a subject that has been mentioned in many ‘commercial’ (and maybe CGI-driven) films regarding herself, two of the most outstanding  films about Joan of Arc are focused instead on the subsequent trials against her, by the masters Carl Theodor Dreyer and Robert Bresson. To me, it is not merely about being serious or arthouse-worthy. Because the courage, wisdom and resourcefulness of Joan of Arc was most evident in her ‘showdown’ against the corrupt priests and judges, who would resort to bluffs, tortures, deceptions, and even death threats, to push the young Joan to confess to all the guilty allegations against her.

Carl Theodor Dreyer

My focus this time is Dreyer’s masterpiece ‘The Passion of Joan of Arc’ (1928), a silent film back in 1928. This film is so wonderful that it has captivated generations of audience, and it has stood the test of time. It has featured on the Critics’ Top 10 list for 4 times in the ‘Sight and Sound’ magazine, coming out as the 9^th greatest film in the 2012 poll. It is important to note that, while both Dreyer and Bresson have been categorized as ‘spiritual’ directors (akin to Schrader’s famous book), Dreyer’s ‘Joan of Arc’ is very different from that of Bresson. Even so, many will find that Dreyer’s masterpiece on Joan of Arc is rather different from the style he is usually identified with, like the long takes and mobile camera movements as seen in his later works like ‘Ordet’ and ‘Gertrud’. Schrader has provided wonderful insights on this issue, by stating that Dreyer’s style could be attributed to 3 distinct, and even conflicting influences – the naturalistic chamber plays, expressionism and of course transcendental ideas. It is in ‘The Passion of Joan of Arc’ that these 3 styles battled each other the most fiercely for artistic control, which resulted in a dramatic intensity that can still fascinate modern audience, and the film stands alone as an iconic piece. Maria Falconetti, merely using intense facial expressions, has delivered one of the most sublime and fantastic performance ever in the history of cinema. The great dramatist, Antonin Artaud, also starred in the film. Known for his faith on the ‘Theatre of Cruelty’, you get the idea! Indeed, this masterpiece was almost lost in the ashes of time, when a fire accident has likely damaged the negatives. Miraculously (is that what Dreyer’s film is all about?), an original copy was found in a mental hospital in Norway (the most suitable place for it to be found), and modern audience can thus appreciate this timeless masterpiece.

A frequent image - would Joan confess?

The plot was based on historical facts, and it focused on the trial of heresy against Joan of Arc. The priests and judges for the trials, which supported Britain at that time, were obviously biased and they could resort to all sort of dirty tactics in order to nail Joan of Arc. Using rhetoric and bullying tactics, they attempted to belittle the young Joan and tried to shake her belief that she had a God-given mission to chase the British away from France, and thus confessed to the allegations they have planned for her. Yet, the resourceful and strong-willed Joan would not easily succumb to these threats. When bluffs failed, the authorities decided to craft deceptions. They wrote a fake letter and dictated it to Joan, claiming it was from the French King. Of course, the clever Joan was not fooled by this. Sensing their carrot tricks were to no avail, they decided to show Joan the torture chamber, which consisted of various sharp objects, and a ferris wheel laden with sharp pins. Although disturbed by the possible thrill that could arise from these ‘fun rides’, Joan again stated she would not confess, before fainting and dropping onto the floor. The judges decided to give the calling card – if Joan would not co-operate she would be burnt at the stake. Joan eventually relented and signed the confession, and she was then imprisoned.  It was then Joan found that she was not faithful to God. She put into action, by asking to change back to men's clothes and retracted her confessions. The return to a tom-boy style, and the fact that God was calling back, were, rather ridiculously, the 2 heresy charges that would lead to Joan's demise. Nevertheless, believe in the power of human wisdom! More and more people could identify with Joan's devotion and therefore she was allowd for one final communion. More than ready to be a martyr for her country, Joan was brough outside and she was burnt to death. People felt bad for her, and a riot almost broke out. With her soul parting from her body, she was finally alone - with God!

Joan experiencing God

Dreyer has stated that he wanted to show a ‘landscape of men’ in ‘The Passion of Joan of Arc’. Natural landscape has been used as mental allegory in many films, including those of  John Ford, Anthony Mann, and Nicholas Ray. In order to achieve this, Dreyer employed stylized approaches. Many of these were expressionistic, including the extensive use of extreme close-ups, high contrast lighting, and low angle camera placement. This presented a threatening and confrontational atmosphere, as if Joan was being cruelly inspected under the microscope and was utterly alone in this battle against injustice. The emotional richness displayed by all the character’s faces was unprecedented in the history of film, and few subsequent films could capture such a plentitude of sentiments in such a lucid manner . Indeed, this style was extremely important for Dreyer’s end because his version of Joan of Arc was concentrated on the disparity / chaotic nature of the trial, and the outcome that followed. Unlike Bresson or Ozu, whose spiritual quests in their films would lead to a stasis stage – a kind of peace of mind at the end – Dreyer has chosen not to end that way. Thus, Bresson’s and Dreyer’s respective ‘Joans’ are different from each other.

Indeed, another high point of expressionism is the torture chamber sequence, which ironically can provide ‘guilty pleasures’ for modern audience (including myself) as the effects employed are certainly funny. With the canted angles, abstract images of sharp objects, and distorted perspective, this montage-style sequence was intercut with the elevating thrill displayed on Joan’s face. The priest turning the ‘ferris wheel’ with sharp blades is legend – he attempted a threatening stance by turning it slowly, and then faster and faster (certainly an expressionistic effect from Dreyer, as it became over the top at the end), thus while it could be fun to watch nowadays, it was certainly emotionally thrilling!

(1/2)

I have to stop here, as that is quite a lot to say about this great film. Falconetti’s monumental performance is so inspiring that there is no point to treat this subject lightly. I am getting ready for my trip to Italy, so I think I will continue with this next week when I am back. At the time, just go for this film on the internet (inc. the ferris wheel scene, see below link), it will leave a lasting impression. Anyway, see you next week!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DY4M8WyIOrE

by Ed Law
21/8/2015

Film Analysis - 53